Some years — like 2011 — we see more parity in the Women’s NCAA Tournament than others. Notre Dame and Texas A&M played last year in the first final since 1982 that didn’t feature a No. 1 seed. But when it comes to this year’s bracket, it’s difficult to imagine center Brittney Griner and Baylor not being a major story, now that the Bears have taken Connecticut’s place as the premier team in women’s college basketball. The Bears, who went 34-0 this season, have taken down all the best talent, from Notre Dame to Connecticut and defending champion Texas A&M twice. Since the brackets have been revealed, more of the focus will be on how teams go about slowing down Baylor without selling out too many of their defenders on the 6-8 Griner, who has become the biggest matchup problem in all of college basketball.

RALEIGH REGIONAL

Picking this one won’t be difficult when you have Skylar Diggins and the Fighting Irish opening things up at home and not encountering much difficulty until they get to the Elite Eight. From there, one still has to like coach Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame, even while running into the likes of either Texas A&M — which beat the Irish in last year’s title game — or the No. 2-seed Maryland. Diggins, who is averaging 17 points and 5.7 assists, leads a team that already beat Connecticut twice this year and is operating with confidence as the new top dog in the Big East. The Irish also saw what it was like to have the NCAA title stolen, when last year red-hot Texas A&M swiped the trophy in one of the better title games over the past 10 years.

Does it get better than Griner? Probably not, but the NCAA did its best to stack this region and make things as difficult as possible for the Lady Bears. The No. 3 seed are the Blue Hens of Delaware, who feature the nation’s leading scorer Elena Delle Donne. At 27.5 points per game, she is by far the most versatile player in the tournament and can cause a lot of matchup problems — especially up top. Aside from Delaware, Pat Summitt’s Lady Volunteers from Tennessee are lurking in the No. 2 seed and although they’ve struggled against top-tier talent (they lost to Baylor by 10 and Notre Dame by 28), it would be foolish to say Summitt won’t have this team poised for an upset bid, especially after an opening-round game with her alma mater, Tennessee-Martin.

KINGSTON REGIONAL

Once again, Connecticut won’t start too far from home on its way to the Final Four as it takes the top seed only 59 miles away from campus. The Huskies will have extra incentive to get out of the bracket because a potential rematch with Notre Dame awaits. Remember, the Irish knocked out UConn in the same stage last year. Fourth-seeded Penn State, No. 11 in the country, could pose a tricky matchup in the Sweet 16, but UConn should make its seventh straight trip to the Elite Eight. A familiar face sits in the bottom of the bracket as Rutgers takes the No. 6 seed, but will have to face Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. The committee did load the bracket with four of the top-12 ranked teams in the country. And don’t sleep on ninth-seeded Princeton, which despite being ranked 24 in the country, will have a tricky 8-9 game with Kansas State.

FRESNO REGIONAL

Stanford will take a 28-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, including a 15-point drubbing of California in the Pac-12 Conference championship. Led by the Ogwumike sisters, Pac-12 Player of the Year Nnemkadi and Chiney, the Cardinal will be gunning for a fifth straight Final Four. Big Ten conference tournament champion Purdue sit as a No. 4 seed, potentially waiting for Stanford in the second weekend. And on the other side of the bracket is Duke. Freshman Elizabeth Williams averaged 14.3 points per game, 8.3 rebounds and an imposing 3.8 blocks. The Blue Devils were the ACC regular-season champs, but are nursing a loss to North Carolina State and an early exit from the conference tournament, where they lost in the quarterfinals. If they can get out of the first weekend, then St. John’s should be waiting, looking to topple its third top-10 team this year, including a win at Connecticut last month.